David Hearst, the editor-in-chief of Middle East Eye, insists that legal action should be taken against British citizens who are part of the Israeli military machine committing war crimes in Gaza upon their return to the United Kingdom, although he believes “this will never happen”. Hearst points to the jubilation of Arieh King, the deputy mayor of Jerusalem, over pictures of Palestinian men from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza being stripped naked but for their underwear and forced to sit in the street, images that stunned and incited outrage worldwide. Even King, in a post on social media platform x, stated, “If it were up to me, I would have sent D-9 bulldozers and ordered the burying of these hundreds of ‘ants’ alive.”
It is mentioned that King is a British citizen whose parents migrated from Britain to Israel. He rose to the rank of lieutenant in the Israeli Defense Forces’ Givati Brigade and since then has made his life’s mission the Judaization of occupied East Jerusalem, still holding British citizenship. Hearst concludes that as a British citizen, King would be of interest to the war crimes unit of London’s police force, which supports investigations of the International Criminal Court regarding any war crimes committed by Israel or Hamas in the region since October 7th.
Hearst notes that should King reappear in Britain, he may have to answer for comments made about the Palestinian people. Among these statements, King claimed that Palestinians “are not human beings, not human animals, they’re beneath humanity and that’s how they should be treated” and “Eradicate the memory of Amalek and never forget,” referencing a biblical verse calling for the destruction of every man, woman, child, and cattle belonging to an ancient foe of the Jewish people.
Some British citizens working with the Israeli military justify war crimes in Gaza, as Hearst highlighted. He points out that the actual number of British Jews and dual citizens fighting in the Israeli military is a secret concealed by both Israel and the British government. However, Sam Sank, a reservist in the Israeli military from Stanmore, North London, told The Sunday Times that based on the number of his friends in the army, there are “hundreds if not thousands” of other Britons fighting in Israel.
Hearst mentions that the actual figures are not the only question the British government has refused to answer. Former cabinet minister Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, following her resignation, inquired about Britain’s support for Israel’s previous 2014 operation in Gaza. Today, lawyers representing the International Centre for Justice for Palestinians are asking, “Is it a criminal offense for British citizens to travel to Israel or the occupied Palestinian territories to fight with the Israeli military or any other state or non-governmental entity?”
The Foreign and Home Office departments refuse to answer this question, Hearst surmises, because if they state it is not a criminal offense for a dual British-Israeli citizen to fight in the Israeli military on the basis that Israel is a sovereign state, then how do they explain their explicit ban on Britons fighting in Ukraine? Citing explicit advice from the Foreign Office about Ukraine stating, “Traveling to Ukraine to fight, or to assist others engaged in the conflict, could amount to offences under UK legislation, and you could be prosecuted on your return,” Hearst remarks that no such concerns are expressed regarding Israel.
When raised in parliament, the Security Minister in the Home Office, Tom Tugendhat, pointed out that Britain recognizes the right of dual nationals to enroll in the military service of their other country of nationality. Hearst inquires whether this recognition extends to British Syrians fighting with President Bashar al-Assad and notes Tugendhat’s follow-up statement: “Anyone traveling to conflict areas to engage in illegal activity should expect to be scrutinized on their return.”
Reflecting on all the actions of the Israeli military towards civilians in Gaza, from displacement, comprehensive bombardment, transforming hospitals into battlefields, targeting wounded patients attempting to evacuate, bombing UN shelters, stripping civilians, to forcing them to carry Kalashnikovs, Hearst deems these acts illegal and constituting war crimes under international law. Being a dual national as part of the military machine committing these heinous crimes could, by default, make one liable for prosecution upon returning to the UK.
However, Hearst believes any British government, under any Prime Minister, would strive to prevent such an occurrence. He questions whether it is indeed right for a British Jew to fight for Israel when needed, or for British Palestinians to join non-prohibited groups like Fatah to defend their village or town in the occupied West Bank. Hearst challenges double standards in pursuing British citizens who justify war crimes while prosecuting Palestinian supporters for hate speech in London, questioning the impact of such unequal measures on community relations in Britain.
The article suggests the only fair answer to these questions would be to prohibit all British citizens from fighting abroad, irrespective of the country or cause, to prevent Israel from not only becoming a graveyard for efforts to enforce international law and establish a rule-based global system but also a graveyard for the rule of law in Britain itself.
